The Coldest Winter Ever (54 page)

So it was inevitable that Santiaga’s family would suffer, his roof cave in. At his wife’s funeral we witnessed the grave impact that never acknowledging God or changing the spiritual path that he traveled had on Santiaga. It was not simply that his wife was dead that impacted him so heavily. It was her spiritual death etched across her lifeless face, that twisted her appearance and ate her body, that ran the knife through Santiaga’s soul. At her gravesite, Santiaga’s longing for freedom, longing to simply know his now grown children, longing for his wife as she was when he originally chose her, his guilt in knowing
that his living was the cause of her downfall, brought Santiaga to his knees, finally.

In the physical world Santiaga tried to compensate for the danger his “occupation” placed his family in. He installed the double doors in his apartment inside of a project building. No doubt this took great expense, reputation, and intimidation to achieve. After all, every project building has a housing authority and perpetual police presence. Normally they regulate every detail of a resident’s living arrangement. Each family must adhere to a plain and basic structure, but not Santiaga. Despite the accomplishment of having his expensively furnished apartment specially renovated for increased security, he soon, out of fear or intuition, moved his family out of the projects. Their new location was what he called a Long Island, New York, “safe house.” However, without spiritual armor, even while living in the Long Island lap of luxury, they still were not safe.

Santiaga was present in his family’s life enough for his wife and daughters to feel secure. But what did his presence teach his wife and children? We know it taught Winter that drug dealing was a preferred business opportunity, and her preferred lifestyle. It taught her that the drug dealer was the better man, at the top of the food chain. It became the criteria by which she judged all of her family and friends. Therefore, despite the love she said she had for her father, and the love he said he had for her, his presence set an example that was not a viable, life giving, life sustaining example for his children. His example led to Winter’s eventual loss of freedom. For his other three remaining daughters his example led to being split up under the administration of the state’s motherless-child protection system.

Santiaga, though good looking, proud, and smooth, was short sighted. “Smart” enough to design and manage a well-manned illegal drug business, he could not see his way clearly enough to construct a master plan, a plan B, an escape route for his immediate family. Where was his underground hidden treasure? Where were the bonds he purchased on behalf of his children? Where were the educational funds, life insurance policies, trust funds, or off-shore accounts? Where was the money set aside for his children in some name other than his own? In fact, all of Santiaga’s money was either in his safe at home in Long Island, tied up in crack spots in Brooklyn, or surveilled, frozen, and out of reach in Manhattan bank accounts. By not planning ahead, Santiaga
was in effect saying, “When I fall, we all fall.” Or worse, he was believing, “I will never fall.” A man’s love is supposed to make him do something. It’s supposed to make him think ahead to provide protection and security. It’s supposed to make him insure and deliver the longevity and future of his family.

What about Dulce Tristemente? When a man is paid and good looking, women have a tendency to believe and expect that he is entitled to have more than one woman. However, if a man marries one woman and gives her the impression that she is his only woman, bringing a new woman into their life violates the trust he established in the beginning. Once a man does not tell the truth about his own deeds and actions, he calls into question all of his words ever spoken, his promises made, and actions taken. As the wife and Winter attempt to figure out how many times Santiaga must have lied to be able to carve out a separate life with another family, their trust diminishes. He has sprayed his family with the poison of doubt. When a wife and children doubt the husband and father, it corrodes the family and weakens the father’s leadership capabilities within the family. It also now infects the family with the notion that “If he’s not living right, why should we?” It loosens everybody’s idea of morality and responsibility. How much did Santiaga’s relationship with Dulce Tristemente, the other woman who birthed his only son (that we know of), spark the complete psychological downfall of Mrs. Santiaga? How wrenching was it for Momma Santiaga? How long did she blame and abuse herself for never having given birth to a boy? How much did his actions affect Winter’s attitude toward visiting and sacrificing for and helping her father during his trial and incarceration?

Overall, Santiaga provided his wife and children with a home, clothes, food, jewels, and all of the trappings of American-style prosperity. Yet in his role as husband and father he was unsuccessful due to his lack of understanding of himself, his father, and God.

All of the characters’ names appear in alphabetical order

Alvin
Winter’s uncle by marriage. He was married to Aunt B.

Aunt
B Winter’s aunt. Winter moved in with her after the Santiagas’ Long Island mansion was raided and seized. This is the same woman who Winter believes set her up to be siezed by the Bureau of Child Welfare.

Aunt
Laurie Winter’s aunt. Winter’s mother moved in with her after the house was siezed.

Bianca
Winter’s cousin and the daughter of Aunt B. Winter shared a room with this cousin after her home was seized.

Big Moe
Operator of the local bar and dance set where Winter partied. This club was also one of Santiaga’s business meeting spots.

Bilal Odé
The birth name of Midnight, who was born in the Sudan, Africa.

Bob Goldstein
Santiaga’s lawyer.

Boom
The little dick, bad sex guy whom Winter dates while hanging with Souljah’s sister Lauren.

Bryce
The half-brother of Bullet who lived in Washington, D.C. He was one of Bullet’s drug-dealing, gun-running contacts.

Bubbles
The locksmith who came to Winter’s Brooklyn apartment to install a safe for Santiaga. Santiaga caught him gazing at Winter. He cut his face open with a knife to teach him a lesson.

Butter
The four-year-old boy who was murdered and beheaded along with his sister KK by the Young Heads, a ruthless up-and-coming drug-dealing squad.

Cameron
One of Lauren’s boyfriends. Lauren stayed a couple of nights with him after the infamous after party for GS. Winter had to fill in as Souljah’s office help during Lauren’s absence.

Captain Chulla
The Brooklyn police captain who was on Santiaga’s payroll. He kept the officers “looking the other way while Santiaga ran his drugs through the hood.”

Chanté
The Brooklyn neighborhood girl who taught the young Winter and her female friends all of the sexual positions. She also let Winter and her girls watch while she had sex with boys and men.

Claudette
The girl in the House of Success group home who, according to Winter, needed the most help with improving her appearance and overall style. She was Winter’s guinea pig and first customer in her clothing and makeover business at The House of Success group home.

Doc
A Brooklyn resident and war veteran with limited medical experience. Santiaga used him to give medical services to people whom he couldn’t risk sending to the hospital, tipping off the police and causing the authorities to raise questions. Doc was not a real doctor.

Doc
The medical doctor and surgeon who was Souljah’s landlord. She owned and resided on the first two floors of her Harlem brown-stone. Souljah lived on the top floor.

Driguez
One of Santiaga’s men.

Dulce Tristemente
Santiaga’s other woman. She gave birth to Santiaga’s first and only son that we know of. She visited Santiaga in
jail on the same day and time as Mrs. Santiaga, causing Mrs. Santiaga’s emotional and psychological downfall.

Earline
The operator and owner of the beauty salon where Winter and her mom got preferential treatment when getting their hair done.

Frankie
The rap star GS’s bodyguard. He’s the one who invited Winter and Lauren to the celebrity after-party held in Alpine, New Jersey.

Granny
Bullet’s grandmother. She was a compulsiver gambler.

Ms. Griswaldi
The Bureau of Child Welfare worker who arrived at Aunt’s B’s apartment with the sheriff. They picked Winter up by force and placed her into the House of Success group home.

Iris
One of the girls who swapped guns, drugs, and money with Winter in the ladies bathroom at Houston’s restaurant in New York City. She took Winter’s pocketbook and gave Winter hers. She was working for Bryce. Winter was working for Bullet. However, Winter didn’t realize what was going on.

Izzy
The Macy’s department store security guard who sexually molested Winter in the back office of the store after accusing her of being suspicious.

Jacob
The first boy Natalie ever had sex with. He was a twin. Winter lost her virginity to his brother.

Jamal
The first boy Winter had sex with at age twelve. He was a twin. Natalie had sex with his brother at the same time.

Judy
Sterling’s overweight girlfriend. She packed Winter’s clothes and moved her out of his house. Winter was sleeping with Sterling, while posing as his cousin.

Kathy Johnson
The psychologist at The House of Success who attempted to help Winter Santiaga.

Kim
One of the young ladies who attended Souljah’s womanhood courses.

KK
The little three-year-old girl, who Bullet mentioned was beheaded by the Young Heads in the takeover of Santiaga’s Brooklyn drug business.

Lance
The bully who attempted to rape Midnight’s little sister. Midnight murdered him and was incarcerated for five years for manslaughter.

Lashay
The “middleman” in Winter’s clothing and makeover enterprise at The House of Success. She picked up the stolen goods for Winter to resell to the group home girls. Winter used her while she was on restriction at the House of Success and forbidden to go outside.

Lauren
Sister Souljah’s sister. She lived in the brownstone with Souljah. She became “friends” with Winter.

Lexus
Known as Lexy, she’s Winter’s baby sister. She is a twin.

Little Biz
Simone’s baby’s daddy. They broke up, and the unborn baby died during Simone’s attack on Winter at the group home.

Little
Nickel Tasia’s boyfriend after Midnight, according to Natalie.

LX
A celebrated rapper who gave the party along with GS at the Palladium. Winter went to the party and the after-party with Lauren. She ended up competing in a “beauty pageant.”

Magdalena
The Santiaga family’s housekeeper in Long Island.

Mercedes
Winter’s baby sister, Lexus’ twin.

Midnight
Winter’s fantasy man and Santiaga’s lieutenant in the drug empire. He secured Santiaga’s daughters at different points throughout the novel. He also had a friendly relationship with Sister Souljah, which inspired him to evolve as a man.

Monique
One of Winter’s childhood girlfriends in Brooklyn. She was there when the girls slicked up their faces, braided down their hair, and went to fight some other girls in the neighborhood.

Moose
One of Bullet’s soldiers.

Natalie
Winter’s best friend. She lived in Brooklyn in the building directly across from Winter. She was the main girl that Winter kept up with after the family moved out of Brooklyn.

Nique
Winter’s childhood friend in Brooklyn who was being raped by her own mother’s boyfriend. The mother pushed Nique off the roof, killing her.

Noni
One of the group home girls at the House of Success. She was the defiant cigarette smoker with the curtain around her bed.

Patches
The father of the baby Bullet thought was his own. He was famous for a mole on his face, as well as for giving girls stimulating oral sex.

Phoenix
The stripper who spoke up for herself at Souljah’s womanhood class.

Pizzaz
One of Santiaga’s men.

Rashida
The group-home girl who genuinely cared about Winter. She protected Winter when she was attacked, by letting her know what was happening on the inside of the House of Success. She also introduced Winter to Souljah so that Winter would have a place to live temporarily.

Reese
One of Winter’s Brooklyn girlfriends.

Ricky Jr
. The infant son of Ricky Santiaga and Dulce Tristemente.

Ricky Santiaga
The father of Winter, Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus, and Ricky Jr. He built a drug-dealing empire in a Brooklyn neighborhood.

Sarge
One of Lauren’s men. He was in the army. He went on a double date with Winter, Boom, and Lauren.

Saria
Bullet’s ex-girlfriend whom he loved and cared for. She betrayed him, and led him to believe he was the father of her child. Bullet bankrolled her and bought a lot of baby gifts, only to be shocked at the real paternity of the newborn.

Sasha
This is the name Winter made up for herself. She told Souljah that her true friends called her Sasha. While living with Souljah, everyone knew Winter as Sasha and called her by that name.

Simone
One of Winter’s girlfriends in Brooklyn. She became a clothing booster. Winter went into business with her while she was held at The House of Success group home. Simone was incarcerated while stealing clothes for Winter, and called Winter for help. Winter hung up on her. A pregnant Simone plus some friends attacked Winter at the group home, and Simone lost her unborn baby during the attack.